Automatic vacuum cleaning apparatus.



, 4@A1-RATED APR.2 1,1908. W.J.BERGENS.

lAUTOMATIC VACUUM 4CLEANING APPARATUS.

APPLIoATIoN FILED JULY5,1907.

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No.`885,011. PATENTED APR. 21, 1908.

W. J. BERGENS. A AUTOMATIC SZVAGUUM CLEANING APPARATUS. APPL-IOATION.FILED .IULM 1907.

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`Automatic Vacuum Cleanin UNrrEDy sra-rus PnrENr onirica.

WILLIAM J. BERGENS, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

AUTOMATIC VACUUM CLEANING APPARATUS. l

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 21, 1908.

'Application i'lled .Tilly A5, 1907. Serial No. 382,371.

Tofall whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM J. BERGENS, aresi'den-t ofPittsbur in thecounty of Alle-I systems and more especially to the apparatusforproducin the suction and disposing of the irt and ust.

The object of the invention is to provide 'apparatus for the purposedescribed which isv simple of construction, economical of operation,which is noiseless and requires no oiling,

and especially apparatus which automatically iiushes or cleansthe'collecting chamber. Vacuum cleaning 'systems for dwellings, hotels,office buildings and other structures, aslnow installed, have the vacuumor suction pipe to which the cleaning tool is attached connected toapparatus usually located in the basement for roducin the suction andmoistening and co ecting t e dust and dirt brought down through the*suction pipe., All such apparatus, as far as I am aware, requiresconsiderable personal attention on the part of the attendant andespecially order to iush the same when the water contamed in thecollecting' chamber becomes too dirty for further use. All priorapparatus of this kind is also? quite noisy and requires frequentoilings.

The object of this invention 1s to provide such suction and collectingapparatus which is not noisy `and which requires very little personalattention and especially ,one whichv 4 1s self cleaning or flushing.

rlhe inventloncomprises the combination and arran ement of parts'hereinafter described and claimed.'

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a vertical-section through myapparatus on the line 1 1, Fig. 2; Fig. 2,-is a horizontal section onthe line 2-2, Fig. 1; Fig. 3 isa detail vertical section on theline 3-3,Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a detail vertical section onthe line 4 4, Fig. 2, and Fig. 5is a detail view of the flushin valve.

In t e drawin sv the vacuum or suction pipe extending through thebuildin to be cleaned is indicated at 1. To .the en of this .ipe isconnected a `fitting 2 leading to a colecting chamber 3 and also havinglconnected thereto a water inlet fittingl 4. The water chamber 3 aboveits bottom b .Water normally supplied to the suction a paratus when inoperation. In use the va ve 7 is kept closed and the valve 9 set in suchpos1t1on -as to supply the requisite-amount of ywater While-the valve 6is used as the valve for turning the water on and off so that theattendant need not disturb the valve 9. The valve- 7 is only opened whena large stream of Water is toA beadmitted to the apparatus to ,clean itout.

w The water inlet fitting 4 .is connected to the means of a pipeconnection 10 provided wlth a regulating valve 11, the inner end of thepi esection 10, being screened from the cham er 3 by a strainer orscreen 12v to prevent the passage ofthe dirt through the pipe 10.

The regulating valve 9 will be set so as tosupply only av small quantityof water, it being the design t'o circulate the water from the chamber 3back through pipes 10 and-4 into fittings 2 in order to thorou hlymoisten the dirt and dust coming down t rough pipe 1.

i The suction is producedby means of a pump l2 Which may be of anydesired construction and located in any suitable place with itsinletconnected to the pipe section 2 and its outlet communicatin with chamber3. It is preferred to locate t iis pum in the chamber' 3 and keep itsubmerged wit watery sol as to dispense. with oil and make avsubstantially noiseless ap aratus. The pump shown is of thecentrliiigalv type having the inlet opening' 1 4' at its center and thedischarge opening 15 at the periphery. It isv shown as, located inhorizontal position near the bottom of the chamber 3 with a pan 16underneath the same having a goose neck 17 communicating with the pipefitting 2, thereby directing the dirt and dust to the intake opening 14of the pump. Thepump is driven by any suitable 'means such as thevertical shaft-18 extendor other point of deposit.

In the fitting 23 is a valve 28 arranged to close either the opening 24or opening 25, but not both at the same time, said valve being shown asof the flap type pivoted at 29 and provided with an arm 30 for operatingthe same. Normally the valve will e in the position shown in full linesin Fig.A 5 so as to maintain the outlet opening 25 closed but isarranged to be periodically thrown to dotted line position shown in Fig.5 soas to close the opening -24 and open thel outlet 25 tp the sewer inorder to flush the chamber 3. This valve is moved periodically to thesepositions by automatic mechanism, that shown comprising a lever 3lpivoted at 32 and provided with fork 33 engaging the arm 30 of the valveand having itsl opposite end connected by a slot and pin connection 34to a member 35 secured to a rod 36 mounted in the casing for verticalmovement.

Slidably mounted on the rod 36 is a float 37 A which can travel idlybetween the member 35 above the float and another member 38 on therodbelow the float.

Normally the valve 28 is in position to keep the outlet 25 closed. Thewater sup lied through the valve 9 gradually fills the c amber 3,thereby raising theiioa't 37 until it strikes the member 35 on rod 36and then causes theoat to raise said rod and through the lever 31 throwthe valve 28 tothe dotted line position shown in Fig. 5. Connected tothe lower end of the rod 36 isa suitable valve 40, shown as of the Gatetype, and which controls an opening 41 affording a communication betweenthe chamber 3 and the pan 1.6 underneath the pump, thus enabling thepump. to draw out the contents ofthe tank and eject the same throughoutlet opening 25. 42 is a vent pipe for chamber 3.

The operation of the apparatus described is as follows: The valve 9 willbe set and locked in position to 'supply the requisite amount of water,itbeing the design to ll the chamber 3 about once an hour when in use,as it is found that ordinarily in about an hours time thewater becomesso dirty that it should be iiushed out. This periodic flushing of thetank, however, may be varied to suit conditions so as to iiush more orless frequently than once in an hour. This may be accomplished by merelyadjustingthe valve 9. rIhe attendant need only open the Valve 6 fully asthe valve 9 regulates the flow of the water. A The attendant will alsoclose the switch to the motor 20 setting the pump in oper-ation.

clust down throug the same and through the pump. The water comingthrough the supply pipe 4- mingl'es with the dirt and dust and mistensthe same. Normally the valve This produces the necessaryv suction in thepi e l, drawing the dirt and is closed and the valve 28 in position toclose the outlet 25 so that the dirt and water are forced by the ump upthrough the pipe 22 passing out tfirough opening 24 into the chamber 3.In this manner the water is constantl agitated and the dirt and dustthorough y moistened. The water from the Itank 3 circulates back throughthe pipe 10 y As the operation yof the va ve 28 and holds the same toits seat.

Consequently the float 27 meets with considerable resistance so that itbecomes fairly well submerged-before its buoyancy is sufcient toovercome the pressure on valve 28.

Consequently, when it does overcome .such pressure the float movesrapidly upward moving the valve 28 rapidly over to the op osite positionand also ,drawing up the va ve 40. The chamber 3 now has a directcommunication with the inlet of the pump while the outlet of the pump isconnected to the sewer outlet 25. Consequently, the chamber is quicklyemptied and the water and dirt contained 4therein forced by the pumpthrough the opening 25 to the sewer. As soon as emptied, the float 37drops, striking the fitting 38 and by its weightl forces the valve 4()closed and also draws down on the rod 36 and through the lever 31 movesthe 4valve 28 back to its normal position. The apparatus will thencontinue to o erate in t e normal manner. When it is esired tothoroughly clean the chamber 3 the valve 7 is opened so as to allow alarge quantity of water to flow into the chamber 3, thus quickly fillingthe same and getting frequent flush` in s inquick succession.

he apparatus described is simple of construction and requires a minimumamount of attention. The pump is submerged in the water, requires nooiling and operates practically without noise. operate only the valve 6and occasionallythe valve 7, and the switch for the motor 20. The aparatus then operates entirely automatical y to flush itselfperiodically. The water is circulated by means of the pump so as torequire only a., small amount of water to thoroughly meisten the dirtand dust and the Dump also serves to agitate this water so as to insurethe thorough wetting of the dirt and dust.

It wil-l be understood that various modifications in construction andarrangement of the parts may be made without de arting from the s iritof the invention, and {therefore wish 1t understood that no limitations`The attendant need' claims hereinafter made'eitlaer by the specificillustration or the specic description in the s eciication.

at I,claim is:`

1. In vacuum cleaning apparatus, the' ber, and automatic mechanism forperiodically ushing said chamber.

2. In vacuum cleaning apparatus, the combination of a suction pipe, achamber into'which it discharges, a connection for supplying al streamof water to said chainof the water in said chamber for periodica lyflushing the same.

3'. In vacuum cleamng apparatus, the combination of a suction pipe, 4achamber into which it discharges, a. connection for supplying a streamof water to said chamber, a iushing Valve for said chamber, anda fioatin the chamber arranged to be actuated [by the water and-controllingsaid valve.

4. In vacuum cleaning apparatus, the combination of a chamber, a suctionpipe, a pump connected tosaid pipe and discharging in the said chamber,a Waterl supply connected to the inlet of the pump, and mechanismcontrolled by the height of the water in said chamber for periodicallyiiushing the same.

5. In vacuum 'cleaning apparatus, the

combination of a'suc'tion pipe, a chamber, a pump connected to thesuction ypi e and discharging into the chamber, an a Water supp fconnected to the inlet of the pump.

combination of a suction pipe, a chamber, a pum connected to the suctionpipe, a water su p y to the inlet of the pump, and a verti-l ca pipeconnected to the outlet of the pump and discharging into the chamber.

7. yIii Vacuum cleaning apparatus, the combination of a suction pipe, achamber, 'a

pump connected to the suction pipe anddischarging into the chamber, awater supply, and a circulating connection between the chamber and inletof the pump.

8. In vacuum cleaning apparatus, the

combination of a suction pipe, .a chamber, a

pump connected. to the suction pipe, a vertical pipe connected to theoutlet opening of vthe pump and'discliarging into saidchamber, a watersupply, and a circulating con- .nection between the chamber and inlet ofthel pump.

9. ,In vacuum cleaning apparatus, the combination of a' suction pipe, achamber, a

pump connected to the suction pipe and disy cation 6. In vacuum cleaningapparatus, the

charging .into 'the chamber, a water supply, a iiushin valve, a valvecontrolling communietween the chamber and the in-talre of the puin andmeans for simultaneously opeiiin sai valves.

10. n vacuum cleanin apparatus, the combination of a suction pipe, achamber, a water supply, a pump connected to the suction pipe anddischarging into the chamber, al ushing valve, a valve controllingcommunication between the chamber and intake of the pump, and automaticmeans for periodically and simultaneously opening said valves.

11. In vacuum cleaning apparatus, the combination-of a suction pipe, achamber, .a watersupply, a pump connected to the suction pipe anddischarging into the chamber, a iushing valve controllin theoutletfroin` the ump, a valve controIling communication etween thechamber and the um intake, and means controlled by the eig t of theWater inthe chamber for operating said valves.

12. In vacuum cleaning apparatus, the combination of a suction pipe,` achamber, a water supply, .a pump connected to thesuction pipe, a pipeconnected to the outlet of the pump and provided With two o enings, onecommunicating with the cham, er and the other with a iiushing `outlet, avalve-arranged to close either of said openings while maintaining theother openin and automatic mechanism for periodicely said valve.

13. In vacuum cleaning apparatus, the combination of a suction pipe, achamber,V a water supply, a pump connected to the suc,- tion pipe, a pie connected withfthe outlet of the pump an provided with twin o enings,one communicating with the chain er and the other with an outlet, aValve arranged' to keep oneof said openings closed and the other open, avalve controlling communica- -tion-between the chamber and the pumpinlet, and automatic mechanism for periodically and simultaneouslyoperating the valves.

14. In vacuum cleaning apparatus, the combination of a suction pipe, achamber, a .Water supply, and a pum located in said chamber below thewaterllevel and having its inlet'connected to the suction ipe and itsoutlet A communicating with the chamber.

In testimony whereof, I the said WILLIAM J. BERGENs have hereunto set myhand. WILLIAM J. Bancarie.

Witnesses:

- ROBERT C. Tor'iiiN,

F. W. WINTER.

operating

